1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a system and method for weight management. In particular although not exclusively the present invention is directed to a system and method for controlling the speed at which a meal is consumed so as to trigger a natural satiety response.
2. Discussion of the Background Art
Various experts are quoted as saying that over 50% of the Western World's population is overweight or obese. Certain population groupings within the whole, particularly children, are at greater risk of both psychological and physiological morbidity. There are many contributing factors to this phenomenon such as non-compulsory physical education at schools, video games etc, however, the main suspect is the modern diet and the way in which meal time is conceived by modern society. Portion sizes have doubled and often tripled over the past 30 years. Some “foods” are only partially recognised as such by our physiological cues. Meal time, which was once a landmark in the day, looked forward to by family members, is now becoming no more than a quick refuelling stop often conducted in front of the TV or at a work desk.
The natural hunger-satiety system works in a simple way in that when we are hungry we seek food and we eat it. From the time we start to eat we release Peptide Satiety Hormones (amongst other responses) in an escalating cascade which floods into our blood stream to be read and de-coded by satiety centres in the Hypothalamus of our brains. Once the hormones reach a critical level the Hypothalamus then triggers the cerebral messages of satiety. This whole process culminates in around 17-20 minutes. Recent research shows that modern human eating behaviours, including the nature of the food and the speed at which we eat it, causes the satiety cascade to be bypassed and over-ridden and eventually blunted. This results in a person often over indulging at meal times, as the sensation of fullness is registered, if at all, only after a vast amount of calories have been consumed.
Clearly, it would be advantageous to provide a system and method that would assist in the management of a subject's weight by ensuring that the natural satiety response is not bypassed during the consumption of a meal. It would also be advantageous to provide a system and method which would assist in the retraining of the eating habits of a subject in order to elicit the natural satiety response.